Attorney General Alerts

Fake Tax Bills tricking Consumers

January 4, 2017

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Attorney General warns that con artists are sending fake tax bills claiming to be from the IRS demanding immediate payment from Arkansans and threatening arrest if money is not sent. Consumers are being sent a fraudulent version of a CP2000 form for tax year 2015 as an email with an attachment or by standard mail requesting personal financial information and asking for payment via gift card, prepaid debit card or wire transfer.

“This new play on an old scam is another shameful attempt by criminals to steal Arkansans' personal information and hard-earned money,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “If Arkansans receive one of these letters they suspect may be a scam, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. And as a reminder, the IRS will never make unsolicited calls to or requests through email or social media from taxpayers for personal information.”

The following tips can be used to spot a fake tax bill:

The CP2000 notices appear to be issued from an Austin, Texas, address

The letter or email says the issue is related to the Affordable Care Act and requests information regarding 2014 coverage

The payment voucher lists the letter number as 105C

The sender requests that checks be made out to I.R.S. and sent to the “Austin Processing Center” at a post office box.

According to the IRS, the form CP2000 does exist, but it is used when income reported from a third-party source does not match the income reported on the tax return. The fake form provides little, if any, instruction to taxpayers about appealing additional money owed, but the real form provides extensive information. And some versions of the scam include a “payment” link within the email, which could be set up to steal personal information, take money or infect the computer with malware. The real notice also requests checks be made out to “United States Treasury.”

323 Center Street, Suite 200

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201

(501) 682-2007

(800) 482-8982

The Attorney General’s office will make every effort to assist you. Short forms for questions, filing a consumer complaint, reporting fraud and requesting presentations or publications are available below.

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Attorney General Alerts to consist of warnings about recent scams the Attorney General's office has received complaints about and topics relating to fraud and other consumer protection issues are emailed around noon every Wednesday. Previous alerts are available on our website.

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